Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau escalated the administration’s pushback against European regulators after Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted a major European Commission penalty on X.
Rubio framed the EU’s action as a broad-sided strike on the United States, writing that the Commission’s $140 million fine “isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”
He added a blunt warning: "The days of censoring Americans online are over."
Landau reposted Rubio’s message and widened the argument beyond tech policy into a full alliance critique.
"What’s even worse is that the US is in a MILITARY ALLIANCE with the very countries attacking us via the EU," Landau wrote.
His point was that U.S. national security commitments to Europe are being taken for granted while, in his view, European institutions pursue policies that harm American interests.
Landau cited Vice President JD Vance’s earlier remarks about the imbalance, saying the growing contradiction can no longer be treated as background noise.
"This contradiction cannot continue," he wrote.
He added that European states "cannot look to the US for their own security at the same time they affirmatively undermine the security of the US itself through the (unelected, undemocratic, and unrepresentative) EU." The fine against X, he suggested, is not an isolated event but part of a larger pattern.
"This fine is just the tip of the iceberg," he said, implying that EU enforcement and regulatory pressure are increasingly aimed at U.S. companies and, by extension, U.S. influence.
X was fined $140 million by EU tech regulators on Friday for breaching online content rules, the first sanction under landmark legislation that once again drew criticism from the U.S. government.
Europe's crackdown on Big Tech to ensure smaller rivals can compete and consumers have more choice has been criticized by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which says it singles out American companies and censors Americans.
Rather than couching the dispute as a technical fight about content moderation or a narrow legal disagreement, Landau portrayed it as a strategic test of loyalty inside the Western bloc.
If Europe wants Washington to remain the backbone of NATO deterrence, he argued, it cannot simultaneously empower EU actions that target American speech, technology, or economic strength.
Landau also tied the issue to foreign policy choices, saying he raised these concerns directly with European officials at the NATO Ministerial Meeting in Brussels.
He singled out EU engagement with Cuba as a second example of Europe working against U.S. security priorities: "The EU’s support of the Communist and anti-American regime in Cuba is another striking example of the EU affirmatively undermining US security while the vast majority of its member states look to the US for their own security via NATO."
He closed by signaling a harder line ahead under President Donald Trump’s national security team. "Under @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, @VP @JDVance, and @SecRubio, the time for games is over," Landau wrote.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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